Process Engineer in Durham

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Job DescriptionJob Description

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure, resilient future. With a focus on security and economic resiliency, we serve critical industries such as defense, aerospace, and automotive powering a high-technology future. Vulcan Elements is building a team of ambitious professionals committed to Mission Focus, Technical Excellence and Transparency.

As a Chemical Process Engineer, you will be responsible for the process definition, continuous improvement, documentation, and scale – up of processes relating to the production of rare earth metals and feedstocks.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on subject matter expert in the scaling of chemical reactions, with experience translating fundamentals to repeatable, documented, and operable industrial processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of chemical process routes.
• Continuous, data driven, process improvements, and translation of pilot-scale improvements to full production, prioritizing documentation and management of change.
• Optimization of salt chemistry, process conditions, and reactor geometry.
• Design experimental programs to establish reactor kinetics, optimize residence time, and maximize throughput.
• Present results regularly to peers and leadership.
• Generate PFDs and contribute to P&IDs.
• Lead HAZOP and FMEA processes.
• Author and maintain formal process documentation suitable for training and execution by operations teams.
• Partner with R&D, operations, quality, and EHS teams to ensure chemical processes are:
  • Safe
  • Scalable
  • Cost-effective
  • Environmentally compliant
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and technicians.

Responsibilities and tasks outlined are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the business

Qualifications

• Master's Degree or higher in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry or a related field
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in electrochemical process development or production
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Chemical reaction scale-up, reactor engineering and transport phenomena
  • Oxide and salt chemistry
  • Molten salt chemistry
• Proven experience creating clear, auditable, and operator-ready process documentation.
• Experience supporting pilot plant or early commercial operations.
• Ability to independently design and execute experiments.
• Strong technical writing and communication skills.

Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.

Qualifications

• Experience in startup or scale-up environments
• Knowledge of quality systems (ISO, internal technical governance)
• Ability to operate as a technical authority without excessive oversight

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